Category: Celebrity Dish

Hockey and pancakes, together at last.

Sports injuries rarely fall into the culinary category, but that’s where Dustin Penner, a hockey player for the Los Angeles Kings, found himself in January.

On the morning of January 7, hours before the Kings were scheduled to play an afternoon game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Penner was sitting down to eat a stack of homemade vegetarian pancakes when he came down with a case of back spasms. He drove to the rink in hopes of playing in the game, but was sent home by the team trainer. The story made national headlines and “Pennercakes” became a trending topic on Twitter.

The story could have ended there.

Penner, however, is just as famous in hockey circles for his appetite (listed at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, he is often criticized for being out of shape) as his sense of humor. So the self-effacing slap shot artist penned a piece of prose about Pancakegate and prophetically predicted, “there’s no such thing as bad press, right?”

I can think of a few politicians, cruise liners and oil companies that might disagree. But in this case, Penner was right. Rather than covering up the injury, his candor ultimately allowed the Kings to turn a potentially embarrassing incident into a pancake-driven charity event.

The team partnered with the International House of Pancakes (a.k.a. IHOP) to stage a “buffet breakfast complete with pancakes, bacon and eggs, and a glass of orange juice or IHOP’s Never Empty Coffee Pot” in Los Angeles on the morning of Feb. 13. For $10, $25 or $50, fans can purchase a Penner Pancake Package to dine with Dustin, and 75 entries will be chosen at random. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Kings Care Foundation, which supports various Los Angeles-area charities.

Just remember: When life gives you flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, milk, eggs, butter and maple syrup, make pancakes!